The state of Karnataka is located in the south western part of India. The geographical terrain of this state is characterized by rivers, hill ranges, lakes, forests, waterfalls and beaches. These, along with monuments, world heritage sites, temples, etc draw tourists to this state. Karnataka also has wildlife sanctuaries, which serve the purpose of providing suitable habitats to the flora and fauna in the state. The wildlife sanctuaries of Karnataka have been enlisted below:
Arabithittu Wildlife Sanctuary
Arabithittu Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Mysore district. It occupies an area of about 13.5 square kilometers. The occupants of this park are more than 230 species of birds, animals, Arabithittu State Forest, plantations of sandalwood and eucalyptus, etc.
Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary
Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary is situated on the border between the Kodagu District in Karnataka in the north and Wayanad District of Kerala in the south. It occupies an area of about 181 km. This sanctuary is noted for evergreen and semi-evergreen forest, grasslands with shola forest patches, bamboos and wildlife.
Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary
Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary is located in Bellary district. It occupies an area of about 55.87 square kilometers. In October 1994, Bilikallu Reserve Forest covering an area of about 5,587.30 hectares was designated by the Government of Karnataka as Daroji Bear Sanctuary. As the name of the sanctuary suggests, it is involved in the protection of Indian sloth bears.
Melkote Temple Wildlife Sanctuary
Melkote Temple Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Mandya district. It is named after the Melkote temples situated on the border of the sanctuary. It was declared a sanctuary on 17th of June, 1974 with the aim to preserve the habitat of grey wolf. Tropical dry deciduous and scrub vegetation occupy this sanctuary.
Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary
Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary is located near Kollur in Udupi district. This sanctuary occupies an area of about 247 square kilometers. This sanctuary is noted for evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests of the Western Ghats, a rare species of climber namely, Coscinium fenestratum and endangered cane turtle.
Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary
Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Uttara Kannada district. It occupies an area of about 866.41 square kilometers. Along with the neighboring Anshi National Park, the sanctuary was declared a part of the Anshi Dandeli Tiger Reserve in 2006. Some of the inmates of this sanctuary are birds, great hornbill, malabar pied hornbill, Indian jackal and Indian elephant.
Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary
This sanctuary is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Being at the confluence of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats Ranges, the sanctuary is the home of eco-systems that are unique to both the mountain ranges. The site was declared a Tiger Reserve in January 2011 by the Karnataka government, a few months after the approval from India"s National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary
It is situated in the Heggadadevanakote Taluk of Mysore district with an area of 30.32 sq. km. The sanctuary has not yet been opened for tourists. The backwaters of Nugu dam forms the part of the Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary and lies on the western side of it.
Ranebennur Blackbuck Wildlife Sanctuary
This sanctuary, located in Haveri District, was declared as a sanctuary mainly to protect Blackbuck. The sanctuary occupies an area of 14.87 sq. km and a buffer-cum tourism zone of 104.13 sq. km. Mostly, the area is covered by scrub forest and Eucalyptus plantations, and is also inhabited by the highly endangered Great Indian bustard and the wolf.
Other Wildlife Sanctuaries of Karnataka
Some of the other Wildlife Sanctuaries of Karnataka are Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary, Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary etc.
